No. 25 Missouri Western downs UCM in overtime; Men routed by Mules
Jan. 27—WARRENSBURG, Mo. — Eighteen seconds remained on the clock as Brionna Budgetts stepped up to inbound the ball.
No. 25 Missouri Western held a 64-62 lead at the time, and a strong night of free-throw shooting had the Griffons in position for their first season sweep of Central Missouri since 2015-16.
But Central Missouri freshman Brooke Littrell had other plans, stealing the inbounds pass and scoring at the other end, and Budgetts' last-second make was deemed to take place after the buzzer.
But Budgetts scored nine of her 20 in the extra period, the second between the two teams this year, and the Griffons held on for an 82-77 victory at the Multipurpose Building.
"Overtime is where I'm most proud," Western coach Candi Whitaker said. "We really took it to another level of stringing together defensive stops and offensive execution."
In a game with many similarities from their last matchup, the outcome was also the same. The teams combined to shoot 66 free throws with five different players fouling out.
However, Western (15-3, 9-3 MIAA) prevailed behind its 31-for-36 mark from the charity stripe. UCM (14-7, 10-4) was slightly less efficient, making 22 of 30 attempts.
"The fact that we strung them all together this time is a really good improvement," Western freshman Jordan Cunningham said. "We've been working on them, shooting 50 after every practice. That came into play today."
Both teams traded blows before a 15-5 run, ended by one of Jaelyn Haggard's three 3-pointers, pushed Western ahead 23-16.
Haggard made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions for the final points of the first half for a 29-22 lead.
UCM constantly chipped away as the Griffons battled foul trouble. Brooke Littrell, Olivia Nelson and Nija Collier scored all but two of their 23 points in the third, but Western maintained a 49-45 lead going to the fourth.
Budgetts hit two 3-pointers in the first five minutes of the fourth to go up by seven. But both teams methodically battled to get in the paint or to the free-throw line.
The Griffons made their final nine free-throw attempts of the quarter and led by four with under 30 seconds to play. But a jumper by Coller and a layup by Littrell wouldn't be answered in regulation.
"It's just having the mindset of, 'We wanna win.' Coming in here, doing what we're supposed to do and walking out as winners," Budgetts said.
The Griffons began the fourth with four more free throws before Jordan Cunningham and Budgetts were found on cuts in the lane for an 8-0 run. UCM got back with four but never got any closer.
Missouri Western made 23 of its 26 free throws in the fourth and overtime, including a streak of 15 straight.
The Griffons were led by Budgetts' 20 and six rebounds while Jordan Cunningham added 14 points. Clarke finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
Western returns to action at 1:30 p.m. Saturday against Lincoln.
Central Missouri men 83, Missouri Western 46
The Griffons fell behind by 18 at the half after being tied at nine early in the game, but UCM controlled the tempo all night.
Missouri Western (8-11, 4-7) shot just 28% from the field, 17% from 3-point range and 53% from the free-throw line.
Ja'Cor Nelson led UCM with 22 points. Q Mays led Western with 13 points.
Western has lost 7-straight.
Brandon Zenner can be reached at brandon.zenner@newspressnow.com. Follow him on Twitter: @NPNowZenner.
